Police Advise Churches On Safety Issues In Wake Of Texas Shooting

DENVER (CBS4) – Last Sunday people went into a Texas church to worship and many did not make it out alive. They next day our local enforcement communicated with Coloradans.

Aurora police tweeted safety tips for their communities of faith.

Chief Nick Metz told CBS4’s Britt Moreno on CBS4 This Morning “our hope is to have a plan in place and to think about that plan and that’s why we will have a community meeting with faith based communities.

Chief Nick Metz (credit: CBS)

“We want those communities to network and for us to network with them and share ideas on security”. Aurora police tells Moreno this meeting is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 29. (The exact meeting location and time has not been set yet.)

Metz says since the Texas church shooting, Aurora neighbors and faith-based organizations have been calling police for help and insight. He says they ask officers to “come out and look at facilities” and local churches are asking police to provide security.

Churches typically hire police to be on premises during big days of worship like Christmas. However, Aurora police say they will not patrol a regular church day, but they do have police representatives in each area who work diligently with community members and leaders to offer safety tips, crime prevention and long term problem solving. They will even educate people on how to deal with an active shooter scenario.

Metz admitted on CBS4 This Morning that in this day in age the department sees more people carrying personal weapons. He advises people to always listen to police when they arrive to a scene.

“Our officers arrive and they won’t know who the threat is, so when an officer gives you orders, drop your gun,” he said.

Only then can police pinpoint the threat, according to Metz.

“(After 33 years in law enforcement) did you ever think you would have to offer advice to the public about a potential massacre like a church shooting?” Moreno asked Metz.

“No, I never (would) have. We are aware of tragedies particularly in Aurora. In the last five to 10 years we’ve noticed what’s going around in our community. It’s heartbreaking.”